Bishop's comments
(member since Jan 25, 2008)
Bishop's comments from the 50 Books A Year group.
(showing 1-20 of 151)
50. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest - Ken KeseyWhat a wonderful 50th book. My next goal is to hit 30 more before Jan. 1!
49. Player of Games - Iain Banks
47. East, West - Salman Rushdie48. Dawn - Octavia E. Butler
45. Why Don't You Stop Talking? - Jackie Kay46. Borderline - Hanif Kureishi
Both for grad school and both worth the time to read.
44. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? - Philip K. DickI wanted to like this more than I actually did, I think.
Leslie,Yes, it's a big one, but I really enjoyed it. Very complex characterization and all of it drives the plot. Hardly anything is inconsequential. It is not an "easy" book, but if you like VIctorian Lit at all, I would recommend it. As I said, it's one of the best from the period that I've read.
Newest one:
43. Left Hand of Darkness - Ursula Le Guin
...this one, I was not so excited about.
42. Middlemarch - George EliotBrilliant. Simply brilliant. Wonderfully conceived and damn near perfectly executed. This ranks with the best (if not THE best) of Victorian Literature. I was put off by the length, until I got into, then I couldn't stop. This is my 3rd by Eliot, but it's the only one you really need.
41. Selected Poems - Linton Kwesi JohnsonA very different poetry for me, both in form and in content. I had to access the Jamaican Slang dictionary quite often, but was rewarded for the effort. Good stuff...
39. Sour Sweet - Timothy Mo 40. Dune - Frank Herbert
For the record, Dune is far and away the best sci-fi novel I've ever read (not that that says much).
39. Sour Sweet - Timothy MoA very good book. I never would have read this one if not for school.
38. Foundation - Isaac Asimov
37. Second Class Citizen - Buchi Emecheta
35. The Time Machine - H.G. Wells36. We - Yevgeny Zamyatin
Any fan of dystopias in general or 1984/Brave New World in particular, should go grab a copy of We.
34. The Importance of Being Earnest - Oscar WildeLaugh out loud funny. I think I was assigned this once in college, but skipped it. I'm glad I finally read it. Scathing and hilarious.
33. The Virginian - Owen Wister
31. Pudd'nhead Wilson - Mark Twain32. Hard Times - Charles Dickens
Yes...more grad school reads. Both are pretty good, but not the best by either author. Maybe I'll have a little more to say about all these when I can come up for air...in September.
30. The Mill on the Floss - George Eliot
29. An Imperative Duty - William Dean HowellsYet another grad school read. Not nearly as good as Silas Lapham. I would not recommend it.
26. Habit - William James27. The House of the Seven Gables - Nathaniel Hawthorne
28. The Awakening - Kate Chopin
I am studying literature, of course. :)25. Culture and Anarchy - Matthew Arnold
If I had a nickel for every poorly constructed sentence in this thing, I would have a buttload of nickels. It's worth the time for insight into the Victorian mind, but I will never read it again unless I forced.
